In this issue

Q&A

Let's do lunch

Q The headteacher wants me, as the one who does the
timetable, to plot next year's programme so that I give all the year
heads an hour off before school lunch time and then require them to do
an hour of lunch time supervision from noon to 1pm. I discussed this
with a couple of the year heads and their immediate reaction was "No
way". How can I diplomatically convince the head that this is not in
the school's (or my) best interest?

A You do not need to do any convincing, you only
need a copy of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions (otherwise known
as the 'blue book' and available from Teachernet). Paragraph 75.6 says
"...a teacher shall not be required under his contract as a teacher to
undertake midday supervision..." The school will need to make other
arrangements, preferably the employment of dinner ladies or teaching
assistants who may undertake such a task.

At a disadvantage

Q One of our pupils with a physical disability has
physically attacked and kicked one of the support staff seriously
enough to warrant permanent exclusion, had he not had a disability.
This is not the first instance of violence with this student and I am
coming to my wits end. What can I do with him?

A Having a disability does not mean that the pupil
can do what he likes. Provided the school has responded to the
disability robustly and put all the necessary support and accommodation
in place, you can respond as you would with any other student. His
offences are grounds for permanent exclusion and you need not consider
his disabilities as preventing you from doing this. Be aware, however,
that if you are challenged, you will most likely need to be able to
prove that you have done all you can to support him with his disability.

Error of judgement

Q I am a new head in my first post and have run
into a problem over what I consider to be unprofessional behaviour in a
colleague. I took a decision to stop an event organised by this member
of staff as I was not satisfied with the arrangements she had made both
from the health and safety point of view and quality of the information
that was sent to pupils and parents.

I understand that the member of staff then spoke to the students who
would have been involved and encouraged them to write letters of
complaint to me. I only know of this because I received letters this
morning from three of the pupils involved. They were quite vitriolic
and have upset me somewhat I must admit. On what grounds can I
discipline the staff member and the students?

A The first piece of advice is not to get too upset
about the letters from the students - although easier said than done -
since they were encouraged by the member of staff. Better to let them
be water under the bridge. Of course you will want to have a word with
them, in a calm and controlled manner, to tell them that such behaviour
is unacceptable in the future.

However, as far as the member of staff is concerned, she has
committed an error of professional judgement and, in our view, has
breached the professional etiquette expected of teachers. You could
reasonably discipline her and, depending on her previous history, you
could either make that formal or informal. Certainly, she needs to be
advised that such behaviour is unacceptable to you and to the school in
general.

Enough is enough

Q I am a deputy head with responsibility for
managing staff attendance. One of my colleagues is, I believe, trying
to play the system by asking for compassionate leave for the most
obscure reasons. Last term he demanded a day off for a cousin's funeral
and now he is asking for two days so that he can attend a family
wedding in Guernsey. Are there any guidelines I can refer to?

A Compassionate leave is usually negotiated at
local levels and is based upon the norms acceptable to society at
large. Generally it would be unusual to grant compassionate leave for a
family wedding, and you are justified in turning down this request.
Leave for a cousin's funeral is more acceptable, however there would
need to be a decision on whether it should be paid or unpaid.

Your task would be much more straight forward if the school had a
clear compassionate leave policy outlining what is acceptable and what
is not. This would spell out what the leave may be taken for - this
usually means close family matters which are urgent - and the number of
days which are acceptable for paid or unpaid leave.

Re-allocated time

Q Can I use the additional time staff have when
they are released from teaching year 11 and year 13 to cover the
classes of a teacher who is leaving but who stayed on to teach his
examination classes? There is only a small number of lower lessons to
cover and it would not be a big burden on any teacher were I to
re-allocated these across the department.

A You can do this but it will be considered 'gained
time' as defined by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions guidance
document and so it counts towards the 38 hour cover limit. As long as
you are within the limit, you are within your rights to ask staff to
take the classes.